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Naag Panchamee

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Naag Panchamee
Shraavan Krishn 5

This festival falls on Shraavan Krishn Panchamee (5th). This day is very dear to Naag. This day is specially celebrated in Naag Lok. Who bathe Naag with milk on this day, Naag make their families fearless from Naag. Once Naag started burning because of their mother's Shaap, because of the same reason people bathe them with milk to cool that burning. One should draw Naag's figures in several colors, worship them with Kheer, milk and flowers on this day. By doing this one's family has no fear from Naag up to seven generations.

In western UP, this day women bathe Naag and snakes with milk and take out the Baayanaa of water soaked Chanaa (red gram). The same Chanaa is eaten also on that day.

The story of Naag Panchamee comes in Mahaabhaarat : --
Kadroo and Vinataa were two sisters. Kadroo had ten thousand Naag as her sons and Vinataa had two sons - Garud and Arun. Kadroo, the mother of the Naag, once bet with her sister Vinataa about the color of the tail of Indra's horse. She asserted that the tail was black even though the horse was absolutely white. According to Vinataa however, the tail of the horse was as white as the rest of the horse body. Kadroo said whosoever will lose will serve to other sister as her maid servant. Vinataa was very sure about the horse's tail so she didn't care.

On the certain day, Kadroo and Vinataa stood outside to see their bet's result. They waited for Indra's horse to come in the sky. At the right time Indra's horse came and both saw that the horse's tail was black. Vinataa got defeated and she had no choice except to work as a maid servant of Kadroo. In fact Kadroo had deceived her sister. She asked her sons, the Naag, to coil around the white tail of the horse so that it appeared black. When they refused to participate in deceit, Kadroo cursed them to be consumed by fire for disobeying her.

Brahmaa Jee however softened the curse and sent them to live in the netherworld. This happened on the fifth day in the month of Shraavan and because the lives of the Naag were spared on this day, it is considered to be the auspicious day for snake worship. At last they had to obey their mother.

 

 

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Created by Sushma Gupta on 3/15/05
Contact:  sushmajee@yahoo.com
Updated on 09/29/13